Staff: Do you ever wonder why someone would turn over secret documents/information to the public domain. Are they traitors? Fame seekers? Fortune hunters? What's their agenda? How about this:

The Nation, Jonathan Schell

The Army intelligence analyst Pfc. Bradley Manning, 22, now in a military detention center charged with having leaked classified documents related to the Iraq War, once explained why he was contemplating his deed. (He is additionally suspected of having leaked the 390,000 documents made public by the whistleblowing solicitor WikiLeaks, but he has not been charged with this.) Manning was not yet in prison or in the media spotlight. He was artlessly and recklessly chatting online to a blogger, Adrian Lamo, who eventually turned him in. Lamo wanted to know why Manning didn't cash in by giving the documents to a foreign power, such as China or Russia. Because "it belongs in the public domain," Manning replied. "Information should be free...because another state would just take advantage of the information...try and get some edge.... It should be a public good."

GREENFIELD, MA - Greening Greenfield Energy Committee (GGEC) is offering its first-ever hands-on workshop for people who want to learn how to build a ‘Winsert.’ A Winsert is an attractive but inexpensive interior storm window, developed by Bryan Nugent of Athol, which will make your home more comfortable, and help you save energy on your heating bills. The workshop will be led by experienced workshop organizers, Janice & Steve Kurkoski, on Saturday, December 18, from 1-4 pm in Greenfield. No previous experience needed. It’s FREE, but pre-registration is required.

The announcement by the New York Times that one of the supposedly prominent Taliban with whom the Karzai government has been negotiating turns out to be an impostor is only the latest depressing indication that the whole Afghanistan boondoggle is shot through with flimflammery. The US gave a man claiming to be Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansur, Mullah Omar’s number two, “a lot of money” to engage in talks. He also was flown to Kabul to consult with President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace (Karzai, terrified of looking like a laughingstock, denied the meeting).

We all need affordable goods. No doubt about it. All of us are in a bind when it comes to finding local affordable products. WalMart exists because "we can't afford to shop anywhere else." For those of us who are just concerned about the availability cheaper goods, supporting the incorporation of WalMart into our local retail marketplace appears a logical solution. But is the real problem the availability of affordable goods? Or is it something else?

Greenfield Receives Leading by Example Award From Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Written by GGEC Committee

Sunday, 24 October 2010

GREENFIELD - October 20, 2010 - Greenfield received Governor Deval Patrick's Leading by Example Award, which honored 4 municipalities, and others who had significantly reduced energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, or increased recycling, the use of renewable energy and other clean energy, and environmental quality initiatives.

For years, because no challengers came forward, area voters did not have to consider what the Northwestern district attorney does, nor what qualifies someone to hold the job. This year, as if to make up for lost time, two Democratic candidates - Michael A. Cahillane and David E. Sullivan - have been heralding their fitness for the job of top law-enforcement official in Hampshire and Franklin counties.